The Jerusalem Post obtained full copies of the letters sent from the White House.
WASHINGTON — Senior Trump administration officials reached out to Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and director of Palestinian intelligence General Majid Faraj in letters last week after assassination attempts in Gaza nearly took both of their lives.
The letters, written by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and Jason Greenblatt, his special representative for international negotiations, mark some of the first known direct communications between White House officials and Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership since the president’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December.
The letters were obtained and published in full by The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, alongside a letter sent by Greenblatt to the family of Hadar Goldin, an IDF soldier slain in Gaza. That letter expressed the administration’s commitment to pressure Hamas to return Israelis held in the strip as part of its larger Gaza reconstruction effort.
Kushner and Greenblatt wrote to Hamdallah and Faraj that the administration still views the PA as the “responsible and responsive” party in a position to govern the coastal Gaza strip– “in cooperation with regional and international partners,” the pair said.
The PA “can provide Gaza with a freer, more prosperous future in which Gazans can fully utilize their potential,” the two officials wrote.
** This letter was sent to Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. An identical letter was addressed to the director of Palestinian intelligence General Majid Faraj. **
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington
March 15, 2018
Excellency,
We were deeply troubled to hear about the March 13 attack on your motorcade. We are relieved that you are unharmed, and we wish a speedy recovery to your injured staff. We are pleased to see that you continue to have the fortitude to proceed with your plans to open NGEST. As you know well, NGEST is not only a key component for providing needed relief to Gazans, but also a symbol of how key international and regional partnerships can bring about progress there.
This attack underscores that only the Palestinian Authority, in cooperation with regional and international partners, can provide Gaza with a freer, more prosperous future in which Gazans can fully utilize their potential. Gaza needs responsible and responsive governance– not militant and extremist groups that seek conflict and are profoundly unfit to govern. Yesterday’s incident demonstrates once again that Hamas is profoundly unfit to govern Gaza.
Please convey our best wishes for recovery to those injured. Working together, we can bring a better future to all Palestinians.
Sincerely,
Jared Kushner
Assistant to the President and Senior
Advisor
Jason Greenblatt
Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington
March 16, 2018
Dear Professor and Dr. Goldin,
Thank you for your letter. During the Gaza conference Jared Kushner and I hosted at the White House earlier this week, I delivered remarks to the assembled representatives. The assembled officials represented the United Nations, the European Union, the Office of the Quartet, and the following countries: Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. In those remarks, I raised the humanitarian and security issues concerning Gaza, as well as the return of Hadar and Oron, and the missing Israeli civilians. Specifically, I would like you to know that I said the following to them:
I would like to suggest that we visit the border between Gaza and Israel and Gaza and Egypt together, and take a tour given by the Israelis and Egyptians to see the significant challenges that Egypt and Israel face, including the attack tunnels built by Hamas. Perhaps, after understanding those challenges, we can come up with other realistic ideas. For those of you who have not yet taken these tours, I urge you to do so.
Lastly, I must raise another humanitarian situation, as my colleague Nickolay did in front of the UN Security Council a few weeks ago: Hamas must return the missing IDF soldiers who were taken by Hamas, as well as the missing Israeli civilians. I hope that I can count on all of you to work with me on this important humanitarian situation as well, and the same way I encouraged you to meet with Israelis in the Gaza border area, and Palestinians from Gaza to learn their stories, I encourage you to meet these families as well.
Additionally, in my recent op-ed published in The Washington Post, I wrote:
Hamas must also address another humanitarian issue and return missing Israel Defense Forces soldiers who were taken by Hamas, as well as Israeli civilians. There is a way out for Gaza, if only Hamas has the courage to admit failure and chart a new course.
Having met both of you, the Shaul family, as well as the Mengistu and al-Sayed families, I would like you to know that all of you are on my mind. I wish nothing more than the swift return of all of your children.
I wish you both the best in these trying times. My family and I will continue to pray for all of you.
Warmly,
Jason Greenblatt
Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations